these guya are very very right...this is not a game you get great at or win big time belts with in the first few weeks even. It takes time to train fighters. It sucks but you do have to come to terms with the fact that unless you recruit an absolute animal, none of your first generation of guys is going to be all that great. But they will get better...Trust us.
Make your fighters fight as often as possible (ideally every reset). That is the only way to get money, which is the only way to get equipment. Don't worry about your record at this point; accept that the fighters you have now will never be champions. Their purpose is just to make money for equipment for future champions.
Biggest tip I can give is check out the forums to give you a good base. As far as buying equipment and fighter slots. A good rule of thumb for a new camp is to buy fighter slots first untill it costs 10x what a new piece of equipment would be for stats that you are training. Be selective with your recruits, if they get finished often or are small retire them and hope for better ones.
This game is very tough to start with a steep learning curve. Try not to get frustrated early on. I highly recommend checking out the help forums for basic info on Stats and Styles. Also check out the rankings and the top 50 ranked fighters from time to time. From there you can get a good idea for yourself what styles work with what stats.
When recruiting factor in the weight cut. Fighters can cut up to about 35lbs so try and test out their weight after recruitment, as long as they make weight once they will forever again it's not a random thing. If they fail at one weight class move them up another. You should aim for 15+ lb weight cut unless they have good starting stats.
Raised by Wolves