Young began training in martial arts at age 14, where she explored her interest in taekwondo and earned a black belt. After attending a taekwondo national conference, Young discovered Thai boxing. She signed up for classes at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy after attending a Thai boxing event. Graduating at the top of her class from Centennial High School in 2004, Young enrolled in the University of Minnesota, with a major in kinesiology.
Young rose to fame after winning the one-night 2007 HOOKnSHOOT Women's Grand Prix with three knockouts in a combined time of just 1:45. She then faced Sarah Schneider at Tuff-N-Uff: "Thompson vs. Troyer" on February 1, 2008, but was defeated by a second-round armbar. On May 31, 2008, Young was defeated by Gina Carano at on CBS after the second round when the ringside physician declared her unable to continue. Young returned to MMA competition on December 11, 2009, but lost to Shana Olsen via second-round technical knock out. Olsen had missed weight for the fight. Young entered the Freestyle Cage Fighting Women's Bantamweight Grand Prix at FCF 39 on January 30, 2010 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. She was defeated by Jennifer Tate in the second round of their quarterfinal bout. Young was set to face Jamie Seaton in the co-main event at Crowbar MMA: "Fall Brawl" on September 11, 2010, but Seaton withdrew from the fight. Young was then matched up against Liz Carmouche, but the fight was cancelled after Young signed on to take part in the filming of the Ultimate Women Challenge reality show. After the show never made it to air, Young and 6 other contestants sued the producers, claiming they were never paid. During the filming of the Ultimate Women Challenge, Young faced Julie Kedzie on September 24, 2010. She defeated Kedzie by split decision. Young faced Kedzie again in a five-round title rematch at Jackson's MMA Series 4 on April 9, 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was defeated by unanimous decision. Young was scheduled to face Jan Finney in the main event of Freestyle Cage Fighting 49 on October 1. However, Finney withdrew from the fight and Young faced Liz Carreiro instead. She defeated Carreiro by TKO late in the first round. Young agreed to face Milana Dudieva at ProFC 37 on November 9, 2011 in Ufa, Russia. However, she withdrew from the fight on October 30 due to complications in securing a visa. Young faced Anna Barone at "Downtown Showdown 2" on January 6, 2012 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Barone missed weight, but the fight proceeded and Young defeated Barone by TKO when the doctor stopped the fight after round two. Young faced Leslie Smith at on April 28, 2012. Their bout ended in a split draw and was named fight of the night. Young faced Liz Carmouche at on July 28, 2012. She was defeated by submission due to a rear-naked choke in the second round. Young was next set to face Sarah Kaufman at. However, Kaufman suffered an injury and Young instead faced Leslie Smith in a rematch. She was defeated by TKO in the second round. Young was scheduled to face Amanda Nunes at on April 5, 2013. However, Nunes sustained an arm injury and Young instead faced Lauren Taylor. Young lost the fight via unanimous decision. In April 2016 it was announced by Invicta FC that Young would be joining their staff as a fight matchmaker, working alongside Julie Kedzie. After over four years of absence from competition, Young fought Reina Miura at Rizin 12 on August 12, 2018. Yong won the fight via unanimous decision. Young was scheduled to face Zarah Fairn Dos Santos on November 16, 2018 at. However due to visa issues Dos Santos was replaced by Sarah Patterson and the fight proceeded at 150-pound catchweight affair to accommodate Patterson. At the weigh-ins, Patterson weighed in at 154.5 pounds, 3.5 pound over the catchweight fight limit of 150. She was fined 25 percent of her purse, which went to her opponent Young. Young won the fight via technical knockout in round one. In June 2019, Young defeated Faith McMah by TKO in the third round. Young faced Pam Sorenson on August 9, 2019 at for the vacant Invicta featherweight title. Young lost the fight in a five round unanimous decision.
