The team is looking to 'defend' its national title. [=to win the national title again]
As a U.S. senator, it is my responsibility to 'defend' [='uphold'] the Constitution.
She successfully 'defended' her championship. [=she won the championship again]
(..) if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability. - Mr. Stark! (..)2008 Iron Man