fight back

to defend yourself when someone attacks you physically:
He fought back and managed to wrestle the knife from his attacker's hands.

to defend yourself against criticisms, accusations, etc.:
Jones has denied the charge and has fought back publicly.
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus からの fight back の定義 © Cambridge University Press)

文学作品からの例文
アメリカ英語辞典
to defend yourself against attack or criticism:
You’ve seen him fight back every time he’s been unfairly attacked.
(Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary からの fight back の定義 © Cambridge University Press)

- Cambridge Dictionary