This sounds very poorly thought out.
Using your reputation as a "pro" fighter to open a gym is a pretty common tactic, the problem is nobody cares if you were a pro fighter unless you were a big name UFC fighter.
Being a 0-3 fighter from a regional shit tier promotion is not going to get people tripping over themselves to join your gym.
MMA gyms are a dime a dozen and for a lot of gyms they are just breaking even or maybe losing some money as they're a side project for someone who has the money to pay the running costs.
If you are serious about this, my suggestion is get a BJJ blackbelt from a prestigious BJJ brand, 10th planet, Gracie Bara etc, then buy a franchise off that brand in an area they are not represented well.
Usually with a franchise there is a roadmap to success, and some of the marketing costs are covered as part of the franchise fees, you also have a name people know within martial arts as being respected and legit.
Random DUdes MMA gym is going to take far more effort to gain traction than Gracie Barra branded gym.
A Gracie Barra opened near my house a few years back and the classes were full the first week it opened, the other MMA gym which was in this area has been struggling since it opened.
This is not true. I've trained at about 6 gyms full time at this point over 10+ years and the key to the one's that have been successful, more than anything, has been the gym owner's personality and how many guys they got to come with them to a new gym after they decided to cut ties with the other gym they taught under. I've seen guys and have friends that have opened successful gyms with no real business acumen (background or degree) or didn't fight in a major organization or get a black belt from a prestigious blackbelt. This is the one thing they all have in common....
-Started off teaching at another bjj gym under another coach.
-Gained a following with the students they teached, even if they weren't the head coach/gym owner.
-Easy going personality and worked well teaching kids or women.
-Decided to open up their own gym, or the gym they were teaching at closed down or had a falling out, so they took a portion of those students (see above) with them.
-After their gym had been open for a while, they started focusing heavily on the kid's programs.
What most people don't realize is that unless your gym is owned by a famous UFC fighter or blackbelt (example: Marcelo), the common public who gets into training is not going to care too much about their credentials or background. Any competent brown/black belt will do as long as they aren't a complete jerk. What's the real money maker are their kid's programs, and the general person off the street who is reliable with a good job who either wants to get in shape or learn how to defend themselves. Relying on competitors or amateur/pro fighters to keep your gym open is a losing prospect because those are usually the guys who don't have the best financial situation (and are generally younger), will move around for the best training possible, or have money trouble later on. The more competitive gyms are going to scare the average person, especially women or families, away.
I've also noticed those really famous gyms have really high costs too. For the general public, the cost isn't worth it, so why train at King's MMA for $300 a month (guessing here) for example, when you could train at a local random gym for $150?
A lot is dependent on your area too. In Florida, its super easy to open a gym and the rents are cheaper compared to say, NY, LA, or DC.
Last thing I'll say is that the BJJ community is really toxic. If you're able to properly pay and not screw over guys who are coaching under your gym, you can build a successful gym. But every time a gym owner does one or both of those things, they immediately make another competitor for themselves in the area.
