Balrog, Vega, and M.Bison.
Why do the names differ by region?
In Street Fighter II, four bosses represent Shadaloo. Their designs are the same worldwide, but in the Japanese release versus Western releases, three of the four names refer to different characters.
This is not a translation mistake—it reflects a deliberate localization and legal risk decision from the era.
Names in the Japanese version
In Japan, the American boxer is called M.Bison—the “M.” suggesting “Mike,” widely understood as a nod to Mike Tyson.
The Spanish claw fighter is named Balrog.
The Shadaloo leader in red is Vega.
Sagat, already the iconic boss from the first Street Fighter, keeps the same name.
Names in North America and Europe
For Western releases, Capcom shuffled the names. The usual explanation is concern over potential legal issues with Mike Tyson regarding a boxer character named “Mike Bison.”
Rather than rename only one fighter, the company reassigned names in a way that still fit each character’s image—for example, giving the Spanish claw user a more Hispanic-sounding name in the West.
In Western versions, compared to Japan: M.Bison (boxer) becomes Balrog; Balrog (claws) becomes Vega; Vega (dictator) becomes M.Bison. Sagat stays the same.
In international competition—tournaments and the wider esports scene—players often rely on those descriptive nicknames (boxer, claws, dictator) so Japanese competitors and everyone else mean the same fighter when the in-game names differ by region.
When reading wikis or tier lists, it helps to note which regional naming scheme is used—Japanese “Balrog” is not the same character as Western “Balrog.”