[7] After being homeschooled until then, Ladd briefly attended Folsom Lake College, but then terminated her studies to fully focus on her mixed martial arts career.

[8][9][10][7] Having previously danced ballet and run long-distance, she started training martial arts around the age of 14 and made her amateur debut right after turning 18.

However, Lopez suffered an injury in training and was replaced by decorated grappler Ana Carolina Vidal.

[15] Ladd made her Bantamweight debut in a bout against Kelly McGill on March 11, 2016, at Invicta FC 16.

[20] Ladd would make her final appearance for the promotion when she faced Sijara Eubanks on January 14, 2017, at Invcita FC 21.

[21] She won the fight via unanimous decision, marking the first time Ladd had failed to finish her opponent in her professional career.

[22] Ladd was scheduled to make her UFC debut against Jessica Eye on July 7, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale.

[25] She won the bout via TKO in the second round[26] Ladd was scheduled to face Leslie Smith on April 21, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 128.

However, Ladd was cleared by the California State Athletic Commission to fight and hours later at the ceremonial weigh-ins she dismissed the seriousness of the situation by saying "I feel fantastic, now.

"[38] She lost the fight via technical knockout 16 seconds into round one, setting a women's bantamweight record and suffering her first professional loss.

[41] Ladd's bantamweight license was suspended by California State Athletic Commission after gaining 18 percent of her weight between weigh-ins and fight day against Germaine de Randamie at UFC on ESPN+ 13.

In turn, promotion officials elected to remove Ladd from the card entirely, and the pairing was expected to be rescheduled at a future event.

[52] Ladd faced Norma Dumont, replacing injured Holly Holm, in a featherweight bout on October 16, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 195.

[55] However, Aldana withdrew in late March for unknown reasons and was replaced by former UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship challenger Raquel Pennington.

[58] However, Ladd was tested positive for COVID-19 and she was forced to withdraw from the event,[59] and they were rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 210 on September 17.

[62] After her UFC release, it was announced on October 4, 2022, that Ladd had signed with the Professional Fighters League and would compete in the featherweight division the next year.