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I don't quite understand the meaning of "stand up to" in this passage:

Still others, Horn says, insist the saying is a melding of "spirit and image," as in "he's the very spirit and image of his father," meaning he's got his dad's spirit and looks.

But none of those theories stands up to Horn's research.

The author lists a number of different theories and then says none of them "stand up to" the research of a scholar. The meaning intended by the author seems to be "match, be good enough for, or be selected by". But dictionaries define "stand up to" as "defend against".

What does the phrase mean here? And is it a common usage?

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The meaning "defend against" is being used here. The theories in question are disproved by Horn's research, so they cannot "stand up to" said research.

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I think in this context the meaning is near to support, I mean the author were to say that all those theories can not support findings of Horn research.

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