Nabi was born in Hilleste, Hiiumaa. At the 2006 World Wrestling Championships he won the gold medal in the men's Greco-Roman (96 kg) category and became the first amateur wrestling World Champion for his home country, because previous Estonian wrestling World Champion August Englas (1953 and 1954) competed for Soviet Union. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Nabi won the silver medal in the Men's Greco-Roman 120kg.