ABOUT OUR COACHES
joe DeRobbio
Owner | Professor
Owner Joe DeRobbio has been teaching, training, and competing in martial arts for over 30 years. Joe’s diverse business and coaching experience in personal self-development, business leadership, wrestling, MMA, boxing, and fitness give him the ability to connect with people of all skill levels. Joe is the founder of Combat Games MMA promotion company and one of the lead educators for Washington State Combat Athletic Department. Joe has 15 years of professional referee experience and 10 years of experience promoting professional mixed martial arts events. Joe has spent decades learning and training with some of the world’s best fighters and corner-men. Whether you want to compete, or just learn how to live healthy, Joe has the knowledge, staff, and facility to assist you in your goals.
Olivia scardina
General Manager | Boxing Coach | Kids BJJ Coach
Olivia has been training in the Mixed Martial Arts industry since she was 5 years old. Her father, Joe, gave her her first pair of boxing gloves, and her love for Boxing was born. Over the years, her love for boxing grew into all aspects of martial arts. From helping her dad coach wrestling to receiving her brown belt in jiu-jitsu, she has learned the most important skill needed in the world today, self-defense. She shares her knowledge of technique with her members to encourage them to feel more confident, on and off the mat. You can find her behind the front desk helping members as well as on the mat coaching our students. She brings a strong energy to Royal MMA and prides herself on having a class that will send you home feeling accomplished and energized.
mathias bruntz
Boxing & Kickboxing Coach
Mathias started training when he was 17 years old in the arts of Kickboxing and Muay Thai and has primarily trained in those arts ever since. He has successfully tested his skills in the local amateur competitive circuit. Mathias is knowledgeable, motivating, and articulate in his coaching. His attention to detail helps students improve their technique while having a great time. He is known for his upbeat personality and ability to make everyone match the positive energy in the room.
mark messer
Boxing Coach
“I wanna be That Guy!”, Mark Messer yelled at the TV after he just watched Bruce Lee lay out a dungeon full of bad guys and then sit down to meditate on it (Enter the Dragon, 1972).
Forty Years later, Messer has yet to face a dungeon full of bad guys, but he has trained with and been Coached by Chuck Norris's Stunt Double, a UFC Hall of Fame-er and a K1 Kick Boxing Champion who got hooked the same way he did.
During your one-on-one orientation for Striking Class at Royal MMA, you can be certain that you’re getting advice from someone who’s dedicated to building you a solid foundation of basics that will serve you well either as a Recreational Enthusiast or a World Champion Hopeful.
Coach Messer has taken thousands of first-day students through their introduction to the Striking Arts, ranging from the ages of six to seventy-six and from such diverse backgrounds as Full Time Accountants to members of the NFL.
Coach Messer earned a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, was an Amateur Boxing competitor, and won a State Title in Amateur Kick Boxing. He’s been the lead Coach for winners of Golden Gloves, Regional and National Champions in USA Boxing, and Coached Professional Boxers and Kick Boxers to World Title success.
Formerly of Ring Sports United, he has worked and played alongside the Royal Family for more than 20 years and was sitting Cage-side and Ringside to cheer for Coach Joe and Coach Olivia as they competed in both. His Love for Martial Arts and his belief that “It’s not just a Gym, it’s a Club” complement Royal MMA’s Family Focused atmosphere.
steve cabana
Jiu Jitsu Professor
When you train with Coach Steve Cabana you benefit from a Twenty Six Year Grappling Education that began with Les White ( his Grandfather ) who was a Silver Medalist in the US Judo Nationals and a Second Degree Black Belt straight from the Budokan. His Grandfather's private lessons were boosted when followed up with Two Years on the Snohomish Judo Team and another two years of “Freestyle” Wrestling.
In 1993, Steve watched Royce Gracie dominate the first-ever Ultimate Fighting Challenge using Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Steve picked up the phone book in search of where he could learn this mysterious art that was so effective in combat. He saw there was only one place in Washington that had it and it was with a Carlson Gracie student named Marcelo Alonso.
For the past twenty-six years, Royal MMA’s Steve Cabana has studied exclusively under the very FIRST line of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu established in the Puget Sound ( Seattle ) area. His Blue Belt was awarded to him personally by Carlson Gracie. His dedication to the art earned him his first Black Belt from Marcelo Alonso in 2010 and he is currently ( in 2023 ) a Third Degree Black Belt with Marcelo and Carlson Gracie BJJ.
Coach Steve is a perpetual student of “The Game''. He's claimed a Silver Medal in the US Open and in the First NAGA event in Washington State, he took the Gold in the Black Belt Light Heavyweight No Gi and the Silver with the Gi. He also fought in UFCF matches when they were called “Pankration” or NHB ( now called Mixed Martial Arts ). He continues to give back to the art as a referee, a corner, and a coach to both players and fighters Senior and Junior in the Academy and the Cage to this day.
When you’re at Royal MMA with Steve Cabana, you can know your BJJ Coach started his grappling training with his Judoka Grandfather from the Budokan and that he started his BJJ training with the very first Academy in Washington State (Marcelo Alonso).
When you’re with your Royal grappling Family, you know you have a Lineage, a History in a place you can call Home.
amalia DeRobbio
Front Desk Staff
From the age of 7, Amalia has essentially grown up in their family’s gym and has gone on to become the welcoming face that greets members at the front desk. Amalia takes pride in our community here at Royal MMA and strives to make everyone feel welcome and excited about training. As part of the staff here at Royal, Amalia and the coaching staff make it their duty to serve all walks of life. No matter your training experience, your gender identity, your size, race or background - you are welcome here! And Amalia, our “Morale Manager”, will make sure of it!
